Christmas Day Celebrations

Minhaj University Lahore, the School of Religion & Philosophy and Interfaith Relations of Minhaj-ul- Quran International hosted a graceful event “Christmas Day Celebrations ‘’ on December 13th duly organized by Dr.Herman Roborgh(HOD) and Mr.Sohial Ahmad Raza(Director of Interfaith Relations).
Dr.Herman Roborgh in his welcome address said,’’ this day highlights the teaching of Jesus Christ which is of harmony and equality so this moment all the participants are equal to me and I greet them Merry Christmas as brother and sisters above their designation and hierarchy. Remember, the dream of global peace will never come true unless followers of both Islam and Christianity come forward in a spirit of cooperation, respect and goodwill and play their due role to promote peaceful existence.”
Dr, Hussain Mohi –ud- Din Qadri, Deputy Chairman BOG-MUL stated,’’ It is a matter of immense pleasure and honour to welcome all of you and celebrating a beautiful day of peace and harmony. It is an exclusive trait of Minhaj =ul- Quran International to celebrate this day as a symbol of harmony even in those days in the late 1980s when masses were under immense apprehension to express such feelings of expression for minorities. These seeds of love and harmony were sown by Prof. Dr.Tahir-ul- Qadri and it has reaped as a tree of Love and prosperity for all times to come.”
He added,’’ we are all born as human beings with one state of mind and pure soul as a messenger of Almighty to disperse message of peace and to make this world a better place for human beings to live. Ironically, when we grow up the society inculcates in our mind the germs of grudge and discrimination to treat others on the basis of their caste, religion and creed. It is time for humans to mark these erroneous zones and to live like a pure soul to the point of Divine’s truth and reality. Whatever religion and society we may belong to must pledge to work for the promotion of interfaith, harmony and peace in the world.”
Dr. Sajid Mahmoud Shahzad, Vice-Chancellor(MUL) while expressing his very warm and happy Chrisms message said,’’ As per the vision of Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr. Tahir ul Qadri, Minhaj University Lahore believes in Tolerance, co-existence, de-radicalization, interfaith harmony. This university is accommodating students of all religions including Christen, Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists, our students are trained to promote harmony and acceptability without any discrimination.
My message for today is Peace Prosperity and Harmony. Peace in Pakistan we have achieved over the last few years and now we are on the road to prosperity. Harmony is a most important issue and I must give credit to Dr. Hussain Mohi-ud- Din Qadri for establishing a department of Religion and Philosophy  under the leadership of Dr. Hermon, so if not all, much credit goes to Dr. Hermon and Sohail Raza Sahib for interfaith harmony among other religions in Pakistan.”
The distinguished foreign guests present at the occasion adored the step of Minhaj University to host this holistic festival of joy and said, ’Christmas is all about sharing and helping others. On this day people remember Jesus Christ and his lessons of life. The festival definitely teaches us to practice kindness and love towards each other and help those who have less than us by sticking to the deepest parts of our humanity. Through this celebration, we are reminded to have a positive outlook about life in general.”
Mr.Sohial Raza, Director Interfaith Relations (MQI) in his greeting message said, ‘I wish a Merry Christmas to all Christians celebrating this day of jubilance around the world and in particular to our Christian brethren in Pakistan who are as much Pakistani as anyone else. Let us as Pakistani, like Muslims, Christians, Hindus and whatever else we pledge ourselves on this Christmas Day to a pluralistic Pakistan where every citizen would have equal rights and there would be no bars against class or community.”